About

byadmin

Thanks for visiting the Newquay Surfer Blog. The website is a collection of news, video, photos and articles relating to the world of surfing and often the town of Newquay, Cornwall. I hope the content on here can be of interest to beginner surfers, people who just like Newquay and surfing, as well as of interest to those who surf more regularly too.

Having lived by the coast and in the city I can appreciate surfing is a tough sport in the UK and even more so if you live a 4 hour drive away!

Knowing what equipment is suitable for our varying UK conditions can be important – as well as not getting too sucked in to what board the latest WCT pros are riding – they are rarely the best boards for your average mortal 🙂

Hopefully some of this blog can share a bit of the community of Newquay, and de-mystify some of the common questions people seemed to ask when they surf down in Cornwall.

“What time do the waves start?”

One of the most bizarre questions someone could ask a member of staff in a surf shop…but they did. Ironically its probably the hardest question to answer too. If you’re going to take a trip down to Cornwall and drive a few hours to surf, I’d definitely recommend using a site like MagicSeaweed.com to check the forecast first.

I’ve used this site for many years (even when I could see the surf) and overall quite good. Used as a guide 2-3 days before you go surfing you should find its not too far off. However trying to get a forecast 5 to 7 days, or even further in advance, and you’re leaving the chance of accuracy for the UK, a little more down to luck in my opinion.

The wind is a really big deal

This is more difficult for the forecasters to get right. Strong winds can radically alter a forecast overnight. If its looking like strong winds but OK swell, I’d be checking the forecast down to the last 12-24 hours.

“Very strong northerly winds in Newquay are rarely going to give great surf and it’ll usually feel pretty cold too”.

If you ever arrive in Cornwall and the waves aren’t as perfect as you’d like – then remember there’s probably quite a good chance the surf will be worse elsewhere – the exception might be if there is swell and favourable wind on the south coast.

If its the winter in the UK you are probably in some of the warmest water and the mildest winter climate in the UK mainland – not that will help you much if you forgot to do your wetsuit zip up and get flushed through with 9c sea water.

If you take a short drive out of town, you’ll usually find yourself in loads of scenic places where the air is clean and the people are friendly…so make sure you bring your camera, an open mind, a hoodie and sunscreen and you’ll usually have fun.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the blog. If you have any feedback or would like to contribute feel free to get in touch!